Mystical, Magical
by Bishie Huntress
Summary: Do YOU believe? Naruto confronts Sasuke.
1. Chapter 1

**Mystical, Magical**

"Do you believe in magic?"

Sasuke, mouth full of rice from the large, unsuspecting bite he just took, sputtered and sprayed and choked.

"What?"

Naruto brushed bits of white from his jacket with a distractedly disgusted look.

"Do you believe in magic?" he repeated. "You know, the 'Abracadabra, poof! I'm your fairy godmother!' kind of thing. Like Kakashi-sensei's ninja dogs."

"No." Sasuke refrained from rolling his eyes as he turned to pack away the remains of his lunch with as much of the remains of his dignity as he could muster. "Only kids believe in magic. _Little _kids." Oh, yes. He'd seen the protest forming in Naruto's wide open mouth.

"Yeah, but… think about it! Kyuubi is a _demon_, a being commonly associated with dark magic. We pull jutsus out of our a— ah, _butts_ every day. Just like magic."

"Jutsus come from _chakra,_ dummy. It's a store of energy from inside your own body."

"Yeah… an invisible, mystical, _magical_ store of 'energy'. Sounds kinda like _magic, _doesn't it?"

This time, Sasuke did roll his eyes. Picking up his lunch, he turned and walked away.

"Hey! Wait up!" Naruto called, running after the retreating figure. "I'm right, aren't I? Hey! Don't just walk away from me! Answer me, you—!"

In a comfortable tree branch above a now empty park bench, a silver-haired, one-eyed teacher watched his students turn a corner out of sight, one eyebrow raised in mild amusement. As he turned another page in his worn orange book, Kakashi noted, with a sort of weary resignation, that they were certainly not out of earshot.

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><p><strong>an:<strong> Short, I know, but what are your thoughts? I'm thinking about _possibly_ making this a story of short chapters. Is it worth continuing? Do you like my writing?


	2. Chapter 2

"Do _you _believe in magic?"

Naruto caught Sakura enjoying the sun from a park bench near the hospital. He took note of Bushy Brows hobbling around in the distance before giving his full attention once more to his pink-haired teammate.

Sakura looked up in surprise. "Magic, huh?" she replied thoughtfully, tapping a finger against her chin. "I dunno. I mean, anything's possible, right? Of course anything's possible! I have to believe! There's no giving up! But if anything _is_ possible, then that means Ino-pig has a chance at Sasuke, too! NO. Anything but that! But what about Hinata? …Nah, she's out of the picture. Wait! What about that girl from the Sand Village? Tenchi? Tempu— No… Temari! That's it! _Temari!_ I saw her beady little eyes all over _my_ Sasuke-kun. Well, it won't happen. I'll make sure of it! Of course, she's back in her own village now. But next time… Maybe I can arrange to set her up with—"

"_**Sakura!"**_

The girl waved her hand dismissively. "No, I can't set her up with Sakura, dummy! That's me. Besides, girls aren't really my cup of tea."

"_**SAKURA!"**_

Said girl jumped. "Huh? What?" She looked at Naruto in confusion. "What were you saying?"

"We were talking about— Oh, never mind. I've – uhh – gotta go! Things to do! See ya!" Naruto waved his hand wildly as he beat a strategic – and hasty – retreat.

Sakura waved in return. "Huh. I wonder where he had to go in such a hurry." She shrugged an _'oh, well'_ before crossing one arm over her stomach and tapping her chin (again) with the other hand.

"What _were_ we talking about? Ah! I remember Sasuke-kun!..."

A strategically placed jounin sighed quietly as he flipped yet another page of his favorite novel, while also keeping an unobtrusive eye on Rock Lee. He _had_ promised that cute nurse, after all!

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><p><strong>an:<strong> I hope you enjoyed this ever so tastefully short chapter! Please let me know through a kind review! Thanks! :D


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto found Shikamaru and Choji lying on their favorite roof, cloud watching. Lying down beside them, he placed his hands behind his head and let out a long sigh.

"Yo," came the slow greeting from Shikamaru. Naruto grunted his response and Choji crunched on a chip.

Silence reigned for a while as the boys watched the sky, broken occasionally by a chip or two.

"Hey, Shikamaru?" Naruto's voice wafted across the sun-filled air.

The other boy stirred. "Yeah?"

"Does magic exist?"

A couple chips met their end as the boy thought over the question.

"Well," he said, "there's no real way to know. From someone else's point of view, our jutsus could be considered magical, especially if they don't understand the techniques behind it. Really, it just depends on your definition."

Naruto considered this. Then he asked, "What do you think, Choji?"

Choji ate his last chip and crumpled up the bag. "I'll believe in anything that'll get me more chips!" He grinned as the other two laughed.

Naruto pulled an extra bag of chips from a pocket and tossed it to the food-loving boy.

"Thanks!" Choji called as Naruto sauntered away.

"Hey, Naruto."

Naruto stopped and looked back at Shikamaru.

"Why the questions about magic?"

The fox-boy looked away. "No reason."

Shikamaru looked back to the clouds. "Well, see ya."

Already walking away again, Naruto simply raised a hand silently. Choji bit into a chip.

"Hmm," Shikamaru hummed thoughtfully.

"Hmm," Kakashi echoed from the roof of their pavilion. This was rather curious, after all. _'And,'_ he noted with a touch of chagrin,_ 'this book is getting rather worn. I might have to replace it soon.'_ He disappeared in the same direction as his blond student.

Shikamaru looked up at the roof with a knowing eye.

"Troublesome," he muttered.

"Hey, Shikamaru?"

"…Yeah?"

"Want a chip?"


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto wandered along a forest path above the village, thinking about the day. He mulled over the answers his friends had given him, as well as the thought of magic in general.

He failed to notice how long the shadows around him grew, or how twilight in the forest was closer to full dark.

The wind whispered through the trees, and Naruto shivered, brought back to full awareness. He looked around at the darkness saturating the forest, and at the sky, where violet was overcoming orange. Giving another involuntary shiver, the boy turned around and began making his way back to the village.

"_Naaarutooo…"_

Naruto jumped and whirled around, peering into shadows. He could've _sworn…_

"_Naaaarutooooo…"_

"It's just the wind. It's just the wind!" he muttered to himself. Nonetheless, he resumed walking at a much increased rate.

The wind seemed to pick up at the same time, and the harmless, puffy clouds he'd looked at that afternoon thickened into dark, bruised thunderclouds. Leaves and branches whipped around him, dust kicked up by the seeming maelstrom.

The wind was a high keening as he quickened his steps further, goosebumps breaking out across his skin. He was just considering taking to the trees to move even faster when he heard it.

"_Narutooo!"_

That was no imaginary whisper! A high-pitched wail carried on the breeze, seeming to come from every direction at once. He jumped to the nearest tree branch without further thought and raced toward the village as fast as his chakra-propelled feet would carry him.

The wailing continued around him, sometimes formless sounds rushing by in the wind, broken and haunting, other times, his name, whole or in pieces, or jagged bits of sentences that seemed to promise nothing but terror and pain.

Naruto's heart pounded so hard that he could see it in his peripheral vision. Mixed with the raging wind, he was constantly looking over his shoulder at imagined wraiths dogging his footsteps.

He was so distracted, he almost missed the dark figure right in front of him. He stopped short so fast that he almost pitched forward right off the branch. His heartbeat thundered in his ears.

"_Naaarutooo…"_

Shadowy hands reached up to push back a dark hood as formless shadows writhed and hissed in a sinister dance around the mysterious figure. The ninja boy stood mesmerized, too terrified to watch, but unable to move his eyes away.

Words whispered across the distance separating the two figures, heard clearly despite the wind and Naruto's own harsh breathing.

"_Do you believe in the unknown?"_

Naruto's nails were biting into his palms. The being grasped the edges of the hood.

"_Do you believe in what man cannot comprehend?"_

Naruto gritted his teeth so hard his jaw ached and his ears rang. The hood inched backward.

"_Do you believe…"_

Sweat rolled down his back as Naruto's knees trembled. The wind seemed to gather shadows around the figure, whipping leaves and dust in a rising whirlwind surrounding it. The very air seemed to force the hood back as the being finished in a shout, wind rushing up and exploding outward.

"_**Do you believe in magic?"**_

And as the wind and the leaves and twigs and stones rained against Naruto, a light from below appeared to illuminate a face so ghastly, so horrifying…!

Naruto's mouth opened in a silent scream as he fell backward from his branch. Unconscious, he landed with a dull thud on the forest floor, eyes wide open and unseeing.

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><p>Birds chirped their evening song in a quiet forest above Konoha. The setting sun lit the leaves, turning them a brilliant, translucent gold. White clouds floating by were painted vibrant shades of pink and orange. Far to the east, a lone star could be seen.<p>

"Maybe we went too far." Captain Yamato looked down on the blond boy below, worry wrinkling his brow.

"Hm." Kakashi landed on the ground and picked the boy up, slinging him across his back.

"Still," continued the brunet, "did you see the look on his face?"

The two men chuckled as they headed home, Yamato reaching over to gently close the still staring eyes.

Behind them, a cloak fluttered to the ground, forgotten.


	5. Chapter 5

Lost in the darkness, Naruto ran. Formless shapes twisted and tumbled about him. Wisps of shadow brushed against his face, tugging at his hair and tangling in his fingers when he swiped at them. Behind him, he could hear cold, dark laughter.

"_Run… Run away!"_

He gasped and stumbled, falling to his hands and knees in freezing water. Righting himself quickly, he continued into the endless dark, not knowing where he went.

"_You will never escape me, boy!"_

Suddenly, flames sprang up in a circle surrounding Naruto. He turned frantically, looking for an escape, but even as he looked, the flames rose higher.

Laughter sounded again. _"Look at you," _the ominous voice mocked. _"Like a cornered mouse, you tremble in fear!"_

Naruto looked down and noticed that his hands and knees were shaking. He tried to press his knees together, wrapping his arms around himself as if in a hug, but the trembling wouldn't stop. Instead, his whole body began quaking.

Even as he became aware of this, he realized the ground was moving. Fissures grew around him, draining away the water that had numbed his feet. He tried to step away from the rapidly growing cracks, but the mud sucked his feet down. Losing his balance, he fell on his back, sinking into the wet earth. A light from above blinded him and he threw his arms over his face, trying to block it out. And then-!

"So. You're finally awake."

No laughter. No mocking voices. Slowly, he opened his eyes, moving his arms to see better. He winced at the light that flooded his retinas, squinting until he adjusted to the bright morning sunlight that poured through his open window. He looked up.

"Kakashi-sensei?" His voice sounded a little rough. Clearing his throat, he tried again. "What are you doing here?"

"I brought you home last night. Don't you remember?"

"No…" Naruto sat up, thinking hard. "The last thing I remember is…" His voice trailed off as his skin paled to an unnatural and sickly shade of grey.

Kakashi watched with interest as Naruto tried to regain his composure. Finally, he took pity on the boy.

"The team was doing some evening training together. You hit your head, so I brought you home," he lied simply. "You were pretty out of it, mumbling something about magic."

"But-" Naruto was confused. "I thought I went for a walk in the forest. I distinctly remember-"

Kakashi waved a dismissive hand. "It must have been a dream. You said something about going for a walk, but you never made it."

"Oh." Naruto looked down at his hands in his lap. It had seemed so real!

Kakashi's eye curved in a smile. "Well, you seem fine, so be sure to meet at the bridge in an hour for our next mission!"

"Don't worry, I'll be there," he murmured. "But will you be?" He shot a look up at his sensei, but the man was already gone out the open window.

Naruto sighed and got up to start his day. Putting a hand to his gurgling stomach, he decided he was in definite need of some ramen.

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><p>Refreshed and feeling much better about life in general, Naruto headed for the bridge where his team would be meeting. Spotting a familiar face in the crowd, he stopped.<p>

"Hey, Hinata-chan! Are your injuries recovering well?"

The dark-haired girl stopped in surprise. "Y-yes," she said softly, cheeks glowing.

"That's good!" Naruto said, hand at the back of his head as he smiled at her.

They stood in silence for a moment, neither really knowing what to say.

"Right!" The blond finally broke the silence. "Well, I should get going before Sasuke has a conniption fit." He laughed a little.

Hinata pushed her forefingers together nervously. "N-Naruto-k-kun…" she started.

Almost not hearing her, Naruto stopped and turned back. "Yeah?"

"W-well, I just w-wanted to say… um… I believe in m-magic!" she rushed, before she could lose her nerve.

Imagine her surprise when Naruto fainted dead away!

"N-Naruto-kun?" She bent over him, reaching out to tentatively shake his shoulder. "N-Naruto! H-hey! Somebody, h-help!" Around her, people walked on, unable to hear the girl's soft, sweet voice amidst the bustle of the market.

Behind her, Captain Yamato shielded his startled face with a hand and hurried off. He'd better find Kakashi quickly.

_**End.**_

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><p><strong>an: <strong>Well, there you have it! Did you like the ending? I hope you found my story mildly amusing; I know it amused me to write it! =) Please let me know what you thought of this humble story!

BH


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